Painted Trouble

This 10"x 10" canvas is the first painting I have finished in more years than I can remember. At least 25 - I recall doing some murals in the nursery way back when. It was just a matter of time before I started moving off the cloth and onto the canvas. While rooting around in the stuff I found a sketchbook about three years old and the intent at the time was sketches for fiber work. Only a very few came into being and they were unsatisfying. I spent some time reviewing the pen and ink sketches and then started this small panel. It clearly related to the fiber work I'm doing at the moment and it could be a study for a larger fiber piece.

Fiber Outing

Jan Thompson and I went to an organizational meeting of the Georgia members of the Surface Design Association held by Sharon Ahmed at Fiber On A Whim over in Sandy Springs. It was an interesting gathering with the first admirable goal of finding a venue for a group exhibit. Any local surface designers interested in attending the next meeting should email Sharon Ahmed for details. Then, we all scampered upstairs to SHOP! I snatched up this little chunk of dark print which I promptly attacked with dishwasher gel while I was getting dinner ready. Before it was dry I painted it too. Tasty but now on the back burner. In case any of you are into the End Times you can interpret this anyway you like. It's either about to be Armageddon or Peace on Earth: Voodoo, Karma & Jinx

RIP Ralphie Boy

I still recalled the amazement I felt the first time one of these giants swam into my view at the Georgia Aquarium. Ralph died from as yet unknown causes sometime last evening. I wonder if they will take Norton, Trixie and Alice back to the ocean and let them go?

New on the Design Wall

What's new and ongoing now that Mopery is officially done? This piece which began outside on the deck last summer. I'm realizing that the development of these dyed/discharged pieces is not just a matter of cleaning up annoying UFOs. I was just not certain of where I wanted to go with them right after they were created. Now, as they reveal themselves one by one, I'm glad I folded them up and put them away for a time. Who know what horrors might have issued from the studio. Here are some detail shots so far. You can click on them to zoom in bigger images. I'll be moving this stuff to my WIP page before too much goes on with it. Meanwhile, I came across the work of Barbara Cohen and am just loving her paintings.

I'm off to the Scribbler Wing of the Betty Ford Clinic...

The real trick is knowing when to stop.

Addiction

Link Love

Gotta thank Jen Lemen for that wonderful expression but I can't wait for Sunday. To make up for my lack of posting, here is some authentic magic from the wasteland called the web. Speakers on and an open heart are in order for Jonathan Yuen's site. Lisa Miller has good new for the New Moon in Capricorn and she very nearly has me picking up my Tarot cards again. Yes, I do readings. To joggle your creative bone (where is yours? mine is in my butt I think) this marvel from my old buddy Frank Ze. If you make something cool, email it to me.... deborah@lacativa.com <---I did this one...looks like my quilts. I am working hard on a new piece but big things take longer for sure and I can't get a break in the weather to do any decent in progress pictures. For now, it's me, John Coltrane and Miles Davis in the studio. "Some things are true whether you believe in them or not" .......City of Angels

dancing with the design wall

These fabrics started congregating while I was still sorting and folding in the big studio cleanup so they've been stewing on the back burner for awhile. Decks cleared, I'll start staring at them as a group until something moves me beyond the way the colors get along.

New Year, new work

Fini. This is "3 to 5 for Mopery" (39x47) $3100 Okay, so it still needs to be ironed good to set the last of the fabric paint and a sleeve sewn on but I'm satisfied for now. Some sleeve sewing will give me face time with my crew after dinner. Not a bad way to start the new year and there's a new piece on the design wall, most of the fabrics already chosen and one UFO rescued from the heap.

Happy New Year

It's 11:46...even thought it's pouring rain, the neighborhood across the brook is erupting with fireworks and sporadic gunfire. Earlier this evening I swear I heard a burst of semi-automatic rounds. I watch enough cop TV to know it when I hear it. Even though I seem to be living in a mock Beruit, I am at grateful peace. My sons are both home, their friends will be spending the night, all the cats are in and my GoodMan is snoring beside me. Two pieces of art got almost finished and something new and tasty got started. Here's to 2007! They are going nuts here in Georgia. It's New Year's Eve and a Sunday. That means that because of the Blue Laws, any establishment that serves liquor but not food will NOT be able to sell any alcohol until after the stroke of midnight tonight. I guess you can tell by my attitude that I'm not shedding a tear for them and I wonder about the lives that might not be destroyed because of alcohol tonight. Enough of my cynicism. Here's a gift for all my readers. Just sit in front of this for a few minutes and marvel. Happy New Year! And this just in from Val

"After serious & cautious consideration.....your contract of friendship has been renewed for the New Year 2007! It was a very hard decision to make. So try not to screw it up!!! My Wish for You in 2007- May peace break into your house and may thieves come to steal your debts. May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet of $100 bills. May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may laughter assault your lips! May your clothes smell of success like smoking tires and may happiness slap you across the face and may your tears be that of joy. May the problems you had forget your home address! In simple words ............May 2007 be the best year of your life!!!"

continued WIP (Mopery)

After fooling around with Setacolor for the first time on both wet and dry fabric, I was confident it would do what I wanted here and bring that wretched (sorry Deb) RED under control . This is probably not included in the instructions but I've been painting a section, watching it for "creep" and when I'm satisfied with how it looks, hitting with a hot iron to set the paint. To fend off boredom induced sloppiness, I'll stop painting and switch to machine stitching but twice I've had to stop and pick out a mess of stitching because I wasn't happy with a too-casual color choice. Baby steps with this one - it's still a cliff-hanger. You can go to WIP and scroll down to see the most recent overall shot.